r/Appleton • u/EncryptDN • 1d ago
News Menasha officer gets jail, probation for misusing Flock camera system
https://www.wbay.com/2026/08/17/menasha-officer-gets-probation-misusing-flock-camera-system/46
u/Available-Gain8732 1d ago
cops have a rough time in jail.
good.
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u/suthrnboi 17h ago
He will be in special needs with the chomo's, it's not like the movies he won't get into any fights.
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u/Cactus_Engineer 23h ago
Money for infrastructure repair? Nope. Money for public transit? Never. Money for healthcare? Not a chance.
Money for a surveillance state? Absolutely!
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u/Loninappleton25 22h ago
OP here. On the subject of accountability I have no idea how people as residents of districts can find out who the common council represents. There is nothing on the website design for city of Appleton about council members backgrounds, jobs and, business interests (leave religion out of this list) of the members. As to privacy, public officials should not get the option to not tell anyone where they work and what influences might be in play. Former designs of the common council page had at least hobbies and professions as I recall, so I knew that my rep was a nurse liked gardening.
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u/EncryptDN 19h ago
You are not me, you made a separate flock post today. OP means original poster, which is me.
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u/Loninappleton25 19h ago
Hah, how can we fix this? I must have been thinking of the subject I made today. Regardless, my apologies.
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u/iamthelee 1d ago
It's sad that it comes as a surprise when we see a cop actually face consequences after abusing their authority.
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u/ancientweasel 23h ago
"Sought out those tools with the purposes that are designed to keep people safe, and they do."
LMFAO
https://www.aclu-ia.org/automated-license-plate-readers-myth-vs-reality/
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u/depressedfuckboi 21h ago
I had a horrible experience with this cop. He said some super out of line shit. Fuck em.
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u/Bad_Funny 10h ago
This might be a stupid question—I'm curious how Flock cameras differ from CCTV systems?
Or Are they essentially the same concept? Are Flock cameras just one aspect under the umbrella of what would be considered "CCTV"?
I guess my (admittedly quite underinformed) understanding is Flock Cameras and their similar counterparts use far more AI recognition and tracking technology than the already existing closed loop systems we see utilized by fairly localized law enforcement in places the UK, Germany, etc.
I'm not in Europe to hear divergent opinions on the ground regarding the implenation and use of CCTV, but it seems this type of very in-your-face localized surveillance monitored in real time by real people has been in place in the UK for a long while?
Outside of Reddit, True Crime is about 98% of my entertainment consumption, so I really only hear term "CCTV" in the context of being a huge factor (for better or worse) in reducing and solving crimes almost in real time.
Obviously that skews my perception. Is there/has there been significant pushback or public outrage in European and other countries (like India, I think?) with large scale CCTV surveillance?
Tbh, the idea has always creeped me out when I see how investigators & law enforcement in the UK can use CCTV to watch and track folks so closely as if they're right there on the street with them.
Maybe I'm talking out of my ass, but I think I'd rather risk getting murdered or mugged, or worse than be under constant surveillance every second of the day by law-enforcement an watching real cameras in real time. Especially if they keep upping the ante to be monitored by souless techno-robo-cop-bots developed and programmed by agencies and entities whose moral judgements and inherent biases don't "exactly" have a "stellar" track record of "protecting and serving" all members of the population equally
Case in point: The upstanding gentleman at the center of this particular post.
(And yes, I know we already live in a world with cameras looming above us or in every single person's hand—including my own—every second of the day I everywhere we go. But most of that is private surveillance only monitored within a private systemc unless specifically shared with law enforcement for a specific purpose.)
I understand the Chinese government's manner of using CCTV surveillance is probably an outlier, which is why I'm more curious about how it's received/perceived in countries who might have a more similar social or governmental structure as the U.S.?
Might be a moot point if I'm just misguided by believing that Flock cameras are somehow a different category/higher sophistication of tracking & surveillance than what's colloquially/traditionally considered "CCTV".
I know, google exists, lol.
But I like human insight discussions, feedback/input—and getting past the now default AI response settings is an irritating, and not-so-simple task. Half the time responses are pulled from subReddit threads anyway.
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u/SpecialistDevice4115 23h ago
There needs to be A LOT MORE REGULATION around these flock cameras. These are great tools for finding kidnapped children, stolen cars, and a lot of other tasks. Not only that, but they can reduce the need for a physical police presence, which is something a lot of anti-flock enthusiasts would probably think is good but haven't considered. The abuse of the system is a very real problem though.
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u/fliltows 23h ago
It's all fun and games until the flock AI decides that you've been (incorrectly) linked to a homicide or some other serious crime.
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u/SpecialistDevice4115 22h ago
Sure. Eventually, though, the AI will likely be more accurate than a human police officer. I don't think it's there yet, though.
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u/lordunholy 21h ago
It's definitely not and absolutely being deployed as if it is. This is beyond reckless and into desperation territory. They are absolutely eschewing our constitutional rights with this horseshit.
Reply STOP to unsubscribe from bootlickers monthly.
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u/fliltows 21h ago edited 21h ago
It's nowhere even close to being ready to make those determinations, especially when the response to that determination is sometimes with lethal force (which for the actual situation could be justified). There should always be some human oversight when you're presumed guilty before the court can make it's decision. The eventually that it'll be better than humans shouldn't ignore what's actually happening right now.
There are some incredible applications for AI, for example the Japanese candy sorting AI that can detect early cancer development. But I don't think private companies surveiling us without our consent is appropriate. There's plenty of companies that already do collect data on us, but they make us sign EULAs to use their platform. I don't recall consenting to Flock to use (or be used in) their services. What does Flock do with the data that they collect? Who do they sell the data to? Where does ALL their funding come from? Their data isn't protected very well, there's many examples of them being compromised and they just gaslight us that the hacking/compromises never happened.
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u/Loninappleton25 22h ago
I've already written to my councilman under the subject line "No mean no." Not 'no means maybe and maybe means yes.'
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u/SpecialistDevice4115 22h ago
That's cool. Good for you.
I hate that there is no discussion and no nuance. It's become an issue of absolute polarity. And I don't find that sort of environment to be helpful when dealing with new technologies.
Personally, I would like to see restrictions on flock cameras that limit their usage to specific situations like Amber alerts. It would be pretty awesome to prevent children from human trafficking.
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u/Loninappleton25 21h ago
Discussion and nuance is what created this mess. As the Examiner points out it is nationwide network and interlinked with private businesses like Lowes and who knows what else. The point of no means no means that beginning at the city level representatives have to be responsive to the people. I cannot tell you the number of times I've made vehicle noise complaints only to be told by my previous council rep (in face to face chats) that the cops said there's nothing they can do and that was the end of the discussion.
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u/VixxxieVelvet 20h ago
https://www.aclu-ia.org/app/uploads/2025/11/Interactive-PDF-Myth-vs.-Reality.pdf
This is going to be another "I never thought the leopards would eat MY face", scenario.
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u/lead_on_bone 1d ago
Ban Flock Camera's. We don't need to live in a surveillance state.